To those undergoing so much distress and pressure because of their current (it's temporary!) situation, you will also give your own testimony as these couples have done. Please wipe your tears. God is not partial. Year 2019 will not pass you by and you too will laugh last.

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Sunday, March 4, 2018

What can I say? All I can do is to be thankful for God’s
mercy. As I write, my little baby is fast asleep beside me; I am a mother after
23 years of marriage but we never envisioned such a long wait. Before our
marriage, my husband and I had mapped and planned out our lives: we would start
a family after 5 years when all additional and higher education was completed
and we were financially stable. However when we were ready about 5 years into
our marriage, life had other plans for us… no pregnancy was forthcoming.

Early tests revealed azoospermia. My husband’s
doctor friend told him he should have hidden the test result from me as some
wives have been known to run away in similar cases. A nurse advised me that in
Africa, there was no ‘barren’ man and another woman may come later with a
‘manufactured’ baby for my husband so I should go ‘out’ to get a boyfriend that
would impregnate me. When I objected saying I was a Christian, she laughed. So
began our fertility journey. We were not worried though. We felt that as long
as we had God and each other, we would overcome. We determined never to resort
to native doctors, anything fetish or even ‘prophets’ and decided to first try
some natural fertility herbs whose practitioner we had read about in the
newspapers. This brought about a breakthrough but not enough to produce
results. We told no one and confided in no one about our fertility struggles so
it was quite a lonely journey for me who had very few friends. Neither of our
families pressurized us but I pressurized myself as the years passed. Google
became my closest friend and many nights I researched long and hard, often into
the early hours for solution. Occasionally my father-in-law suggested steps and
concoctions which we rejected.

Medically, we tried EVERYTHING. In 2005/2006, our
gynaecologist referred us for Assisted Reproductive Treatment at one of the
best clinics in the country. We sold practically all of our investments to pay
for some treatment cycles but they ended in failure and was a painful and colossal
waste of money.

We joined the Laughter Church early 2007, praying and doing
all the assignments. We were soon after able to see the General Overseer for
prayer. In between we occasionally saw other men of God for prayer and also
went through some more medical treatment. In London in 2008, I was able to see
a famous man of God who I would not otherwise have been able to see back in Nigeria
and he also prayed for us.

In 2010, I lost my dad in traumatic and devastating circumstances
and also painfully lost my first ever pregnancy later that same year.
Meanwhile, we continued to pray and hope, taking all sorts of supplements,
changing to a more natural diet and doing colon cleansing, enemas, hydrotherapy,
needle acupuncture, reflexology , castor oil pack treatments, femoral artery
massages, fertility massages, full body massages, oil pulling, expensive hormone
injections - you name it; anything my research indicated would be helpful. No
chemist or pharmacy no matter the location, was too far or inaccessible in my
frequent search for often scarce supplements. I became a regular at some
laboratories, constantly testing to see whether medications had worked.
Demoralised, I stopped going to one particular lab at Yaba when I was greeted
with, “you again! Go for injection that will shoot it up instead of wasting
time on medications.”(as if it was that easy!).

At a certain point in time I was traveling regularly to
Molipa Estate, Ijebu Ode to purchase imported herbal supplements from a popular
herbal practitioner there because it was a more regular source. Went also for
herbs at the famous Elizabeth Kafaru clinic in Ikeja before she passed on. I
won’t forget also my regular visits to a Catholic church at Maryland, Lagos to
purchase the Pax herbal supplements of the Ewu monks. . There were others, as
long as we were sure it was purely herbal with no spiritual attachment. Can I
also forget several months of treatment (including rushing from my brother’s wedding
for ovulation tracking at the clinic) with another natural health practitioner ,
who was also a pastor at Canaan land?

I recall too, going in search of an advertiser that promised
his patients would get pregnant within one month; needless to say, his
treatment did not work. There were a few others over the years that I cannot
readily remember. Can I forget going all out to purchase a particular
advertised supplement that promised results? Or the Mushin pharmacy that dealt
in wholesale imported supplements?

Meanwhile, the years were passing but I was not anxious because
I fully trusted my partner and he could see the lengths I was going to find a
solution. One thing that helped me during those long years was having a
positive attitude and refusing to wear a long face anywhere. Whenever friends
or relations cared to invite us for their child dedication or naming
ceremonies, we went cheerfully to celebrate with them but one incident stands
out; one day, my husband and I decided to visit some friends we had not seen
for some time. Our surprise can only be imagined when we got to their house only
for us to meet them hosting a naming ceremony for their new baby! Theirs was a
prime example of the belief that we would not be happy for them because we were
childless so we were kept in the dark about the birth and naming despite being
‘friends.’

2016 was finally our Year of Jubilee with the conception of
our precious daughter. I registered at two different hospitals (one government
and the other private) and was doing antenatal at those clinics simultaneously.
We decided that despite the very harsh economic climate, we were taking no
health chances and would birth the baby in the USA. God miraculously supplied
our needs and gave us favour everywhere. It was favour at the US embassy where
we were speedily given medical visas and favour at the Dallas POE with the
friendly officers when I arrived there in my 35th week of pregnancy and
favour again with my high risk obgyn in El Paso who assessed and allowed me to
have a normal vaginal delivery despite the very precious nature of my pregnancy
and my advanced age! Akinkunmi came on the 7th of December at 1.17 am [my dad would have been chuffed as he loved the number 7 and had even written a book about it ] I give God all the
glory.

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Mrs. Hope
Lumsambani Dilli was recently delivered of triplets. She tells
her story in an interview:

How long
have you been married?

I
have been married for 24 years.

How
did you cope during the period of waiting to have children?

I
suffered abuse and mockery. But with God, all things are possible. In my case,
it’s not that God denied me the fruit of the womb. I got married on March 27,
1993. By April of that same year, I took in. In 1994, when it got to the time
of delivery, I lost the pregnancy to a miscarriage. I suffered many
miscarriages ever since.

How many
miscarriages did you experience?

I had
three miscarriages after the delivery of the first baby who did not survive at
birth. I had two other miscarriages that occurred at five months of pregnancy
and another which occurred at three months while I was pregnant.

What have
you been doing?

Since the
last 10 years, I did not take in. During this period, my husband and I
continued in prayers, trusting that God would intervene. Our hope during the
trying period has always been God. At last, nothing is impossible with
God.

What were
the challenges you faced?

We had
issues with my husband’s friends, friends, family and others. I cried at
nights, calling on God to help me and wipe away my shame. I believed in His
word and understood that delay is not denial. My husband also thought the same
way as we both put our confidence in God. I have not wished them death but I
have prayed for them to instead be alive to see what God can do.

Did
you know you were pregnant with triplets?

No. It’s
a great compensation for our long years of delay, for 24 years? I believe God
has given us double for all our troubles.

How did
you react when you got the result of the scan?

When I
did the scan, they called my husband and told him I was pregnant with triplets.
This is because my eyes could not believe what I saw. I began to feel somehow.
It was with disbelief. For these marital blessings, what do I give God?
Thanking God can never quantify the depth of my gratitude. I don’t know
how to appreciate Him for this gift.

What
other challenges did you face while pregnant?

It was
not easy. The devil wanted to create unhappiness in me by bringing up thoughts
of my past failed pregnancies. I kept thinking, during the delivery, that
something would go wrong. But I quickly rebuked the evil thoughts. I kept
saying, “No, God, this time is my time. God you are going to do something this
time round. I must carry my own children.” I was delivered of the
triplets at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, the Adamawa State capital.

Did you
lose hope at any time during the period?

Yes,
there were times I was overwhelmed with worries. As a human being, sometimes,
you can lose hope. There were many challenges which made me lose hope. The
miscarriages and worries compounded my dilemma.

As I grow
older, I became forlorn at some point. Like I said, sometimes, I found comfort
in the scriptures and at other times, I was traumatised. I often entertained
the thoughts that if the children from my previous pregnancies had survived, perhaps
I won’t be in this condition. It was a mixture of depression and hope.

When I
attended church conferences, and the preacher admonished believers not to lose
hope but to have faith in God, I remembered my name which is Hope. I usually
prayed, telling God to answer me based on my name though sometimes I thought of
giving up.

You said
you feared you were getting older. At what age did you give birth?

I am 44.

What
memorable incident can you recall while waiting to give birth?

Weeping
is the most memorable of them, especially when I heard somebody said, ‘Look at
this barren woman’. If I didn’t weep after the mockery, I did so when I got
home. I would sit down most times and cry to God that if there’s any sin that I
had committed, that is responsible for my condition, He should please forgive
me and bless me with children.

I said to
him (God), “If it is only one child you can give me, I will appreciate it. I
know that if I have just one child, no one would call me a barren woman again.
It is far better.” I knew that my husband heard unprintable statements
against me by outsiders. Sometimes, we discussed the issue. I usually asked him
to tell me some of the incidents. He asked me not to trouble myself, that God
would do it for us. What has sustained my faith throughout this adversity was
my husband’s support.

Were
there times you contemplated visiting traditionalists?

Of
course, that was until recently, because we didn’t know Christ then. We had to
move from place to place seeking solutions. We did all that.

Did you
get medical help or was it natural?

It is
just God and nothing else. It is the doing of the Lord.

Were
there times your husband came under any pressure from his family to take
another wife to have a child?

No, even
though he’s a man. Three months ago, someone called me to inform me that she
heard that my husband wanted to take another wife. I told her, “It is well. If
that is his wish, I don’t know anything about that one.’’

But I
knew within me that her tale was not true. I wasn’t bothered. I told the woman
I was not aware of such plans. This is because my husband never expressed such
a desire. In fact, he used to console me, saying, “Either you have a
child or not, God is the giver of children. We should not disturb ourselves too
much. It is God who is going to give you that gift and not man. So, forget
about worrying.”

Couples
are usually tempted to blame their partners as responsible for situations such
as the one you had. Did you experience same?

We had
that experience. We felt each of us should go for medical examination. But that
was a long time ago. We were told there was nothing wrong with both of us. Once
we heard that, we just forgot about that aspect.

What is
your advice to women waiting for some time to have children after marriage?

I
encourage women who are passing through what I experienced to wait on God and
not be troubled. They should hold on to the word of God, because delay is
not denial. One day, God would do it for them as He did it for me. I know that
God is faithful and he will do what He’s promised to do to anybody. That’s my
piece of advice to all women who are waiting on God for the fruit of the womb.Source: the Punch newspapers

Early in the year 2017, it was joy and rejoicing for this blessed couple. They were
blessed with quintuplets comprising three girls and two boys after
waiting for ten years for the fruit of the womb.

The Quintuplets were delivered at the University of Calabar Teaching
Hospital, Cross River State and it the first time the UCTH, and Cross River
State as a whole is witnessing such a miracle.

The proud
father of the quintuplets, Dr. Ekpo Edet, could not hold back his joy and
excitement as he could be seen beaming with smiles. Dr Edet said “I want to
thank God almighty, He’s a faithful God. The first time in the history of Cross
River State, the first time in the history of UCTH. Five at a go! God has been
just been faithful as we have concluded the first phase and the doctors have
confirmed that the babies are kicking. We are entering into the second phase
and I know it’s not going to be easy but I solicit for support from all
well-meaning Nigerians, all my friends and well-wishers

Speaking upon meeting the parents of the quintuplets, Dr Linda Ayade, the wife of the governor expressed her delight as this was another first in the State’s history. She said it’s a sign of good tidings in the state and country at large. She thanked the new mother for opting for professional services of birth attendants. Her Excellency after showering the babies with prayers further made a donation of one million naira to the celebrating couple and another five hundred thousand naira to the medical experts who made sure the babies were delivered successfully.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

EXCERPT FROM BOOK 1:...We simply have to understand that we can’t box God! His ways
are not our ways. You would imagine that a Pastor’s wife would conceive
miraculously without medical intervention. Yet I know of Pastor’s wives who
have conceived through IVF. Is that then no longer a miracle? Of course, it is!
God will work out his blessings in the way and manner that He chooses. That is
not for us to determine. Our responsibility is to praise His name and testify
to His goodness when the breakthrough comes. Whatever you decide to do, do in
faith…

Monday, February 8, 2016

GEMWOMAN Magazine has released its most
inspirational edition as the perfect companion this Christmas. The edition
features Gospel Artiste Aity Dennis on its cover with a remarkable
story to lift the heart of anyone facing seemingly overwhelming odds.

If you’ve ever been confronted by an
insurmountable ‘mountain’- situations that seem not to go away, regardless of
how long and hard you’ve hoped, prayed, praised, waited, trusted and exercised
faith; then maybe you’ve walked a mile in Aity Dennis shoes.

Pastor Aity Dennis’ story is a
remarkable one that would leave you in awe of the faithfulness of God, for He
alone could have done this – the miraculous conception and delivery of a
healthy set of twins four years after menopause and after over 20 years of
waiting.

This is not just an interview, but a
testament to the faithfulness of God – His ability to turn impossibility to
possibility, His miracle-working power able to overturn, restore and replenish!
And it is brought to you at such a time as this to reignite the embers of faith
within you, to inspire you to hope again and release your expectations to
receive the fulfilment of the unfailing promise of God.

Award winning gospel singer, Aity Dennis who
has been singing songs of praise has more reasons now than ever to continue to
do so.

The 49-year-old lady
a few months ago welcomed her twin babies after over 20 years of waiting for the fruit of
the womb.

In an interview, the
singer said she had almost lost hope of having a child and didn’t even believe
the doctor when she was told she was pregnant.

“I just felt the doctor didn’t know what he was saying and of course, I
didn’t believe him. I went about doing what I was always doing. I would still
go to the studio, sing and shoot my videos,” she said.

But Aity said she noticed she was always
sleeping and getting tired easily but she still couldn’t relate her weakness
and tiredness to being pregnant.

“I thought age had caught up with me. I kept
wondering how I would be sleeping in the afternoon when I am not an ajebutter.
But I kept getting bigger and bigger. It finally hit me that the doctor may
have been saying the truth. It was even in my sixth month that I realised I
could be really pregnant,” she said.

Now blessed with a baby girl and boy, Aity
said God has been faithful to her and nothing would stop her from praising Him
especially when she thought she had passed the child bearing age.

“God eventually remembered me. I would always pray
for pregnant women for safe delivery. I would always ask God if He didn’t have
a baby for me. Now he has blessed me with not just one, but two! And He even
gave me the two sexes,” she said.

Thursday, June 25, 2015

LOOKING for a child has been a most
harrowing challenge for a great number of men and women. The Bible has the
agonising story of a woman regarded as mental because of her continuous wailing
as she sought a child.

God, at last, took pity on Hannah
and gave her a child after the intervention of Prophet Eli. That was how she
became the mother of Samuel, an epic giant in the history of the Jews.

Henry the VIII of England, in his
search for a male heir, had beheaded six Queens yet he died without a son and
was succeeded by Queen Elizabeth the 1st. Henry VIII succeeded in changing the
history of Europe with his quest for a male heir when six of his marriages
simultaneously failed to produce his most desired son as an heir.

In the end, Henry VIII took England
out of the Roman Catholic Church and established the Anglican Church in what
became known as the English Reformation.

Single professional women have had
no bar to their adoption of children. They may have done so in cases where
childbirths have been difficult; when however, adoption has occurred, sometimes
successful pregnancies ensued. So far there has been no stigma involved in
adopted children; if there is; the evidence is small, although I can imagine
needling comments of the kind of women that Mama Gee portrays in Nollywood.

In some societies, women marry
younger girls for their husbands for all sorts of reasons. Our upper and middle
class women almost invariably have children, who in every other way except
legally, had been adopted.

It is not always a happy experience
but then which marriage is always happy experience? There is the occasional
friction when the woman dies without a will because her relatives may make
claims or fight to take all the material possessions of the dead, thereby
cutting the adopted child or children out of their lawful inheritance.

My mother, on the other hand, had
several adopted children, who remain my siblings till date. Dr. Gladys Duruyani
and Dr. Ishmael Hannaniya were married for 20 years and just like any other
couple, they tried to have children.

However, unlike others, it took them
several years to conceive and despite the challenge with conception and their
expectations, all the pregnancies unfortunately ended in miscarriages.

This was a very grieving deal for
them because the babies would grow to about five or six months in the womb and
then a miscarriage would occur and some of these miscarriages were for multiple
babies.

The enlightened couple utilized
their globe-trotting exposure to seek medical solution overseas, all to no
avail. Eventually as time progressed, Duruyani became ill and was diagnosed
severally with various kinds of ailments.

She developed a type of cough the
doctors could not understand and on the film some dark spots were seen in her
chest region and lungs. Being devoted Christians, they sought medical solution
to all the challenges yet committed them all to the Lord as they expected some
miracle.

Eventually the Lord took this
strange ailment away from her. Their challenges were numerous, and one day,
while they dined at a Chinese restaurant in Abuja, Duruyani began to bleed.

She knew what was happening. Her
husband, who is a microbiologist, a specialist neuro-physician, also rushed her
to three different hospitals. Unfortunately, in each hospital, the senior
doctors had all gone home.

After the third stop, he rushed her
to the National Teaching Hospital where he found out again that all the senior
doctors had also closed for the day.

At this point of desperation, he had
to take the bull by the horn, choosing to go against the ethics of his
profession that advise against a man performing such a major surgery on his
spouse. He had a vague idea of what to do, besides there were some junior
doctors around.

With the few junior doctors on duty,
they quickly set up the theatre and began the surgery to take out the blood
clot that was about to snuff life out of his beloved wife until an experienced
doctor who came around the hospital for an entirely different reason heard of
the situation and ran to take over the surgery already in progression.

On another day, she felt ill and in
the cause of seeking a medical solution in South Africa, they were told that
the blood result was bad news. The South African doctors gave the verdict; they
were shaken and took the challenge once more to the Lord in prayers.

They said, “it was a rare form of
blood disease.” The couple were shocked and torn apart for a while but braced
up, rejecting the doctor’s report and holding unto the Lord’s report.

They sought medical solution in the
UK afterwards and the doctors became puzzled and asked “who said she had a
blood disease, a rare form of blood cancer? To the glory of God, the results of
the latter test showed there was no trace of the cancer.

Did a miracle take place? They
rejoiced and praised the Lord. Soon after this great news, they got a call from
the South African doctors stating that there was a mix-up with her tests.

They investigated further and
confirmed that she did not have any form of cancer in her system. Having gone
through so much and having wailed on the Lord in the secret place of the Lord,
they remained sober and thankful for once more sparing her life from the clutch
of death.

After a while, they tried to have
children again but it was to no avail as the series of miscarriages continued.
Eventually they figured that since her womb could not keep the pregnancies,
they would consider the option of surrogacy.

Their Harley Street doctor who is
one of the first doctors in the world to successfully deliver in-vitro (IVF)
babies had been very sympathetic to their cause and after series of the failed
IVF had suggested surrogacy to them.

They began the necessary procedures
and as embryos could be stored for years, they decided to store the excess
embryos while they sought for a surrogate mother to carry their child.

Unfortunately, the surrogacy laws in
Britain were so strict that it would have been impossible to find a mother to
carry the child. The doctor who was natively Greek suggested that they find a
surrogate in Greece.

They quickly embraced the idea but
it was soon forgotten because there was a serious problem with the
transportation of the embryos out of the region. When that failed, they tried
to transport the embryos to Nigeria but the results were the same as that of
Greece. It seemed like they would never be able to have their own children so
they opted for adoption.

They adopted a little boy now six
years old and they later adopted a girl who is now aged four. Duruyani’s body
had gone through so much strain over these years and age was not on her side as
she was classified as High Risk Pregnancy (if she took in).

On two occasions she had been
diagnosed with a strange form of cancer, and later lymphoma, she had suffered a
hemorrhage, suffered from a strange cough which left dark patches on her lungs,
she had suffered emotional, physical and psychological trauma at the travails
she had gone through amongst other health challenges too numerous to mention.
She had also been on total bed rest all through these series of pregnancies
that resulted in miscarriages.

Yet from all these, the Good Lord
delivered her from the cold hands of death. Her husband, Hannaniya, who is a
rare Igbira man from Kogi State and a distinguished gentleman remained a most
loving husband to her, an Igbomina from Kwara State and kept all their travails
away from family and friends.

THEY
loved and doted on their two adopted children and once more wondered if it was
necessary to have more children having gone through so much agony in their
quest for their own biological children.

The Lord understood
the desires of their heart and decided to seal their faith with a remarkable
gift to them in the year 2014. They got a call from their doctor in Harley
Street that the Law had lifted the storage limit of the human eggs/embryo which
negated the earlier law of five years. Perhaps because they were silently
thinking once more of their unborn children, they became expectant as a result
of the serendipity they experienced.

Once more at this
point in time, her embryos were still available and having tried all to no
avail, including the suggestion of surrogacy that could not hold for statutory
reasons, their deciding to try once more was not out of place.

This time they asked
for the frozen embryos to be sent to Nigeria and this became the appointed time
for them, as they were able to transport these embryos and implant them in
Lagos, Nigeria.

Twenty-nine weeks
after the implantation of the embryo, Dr. Hannaniya, while at work, got a call
from the surgeon that his twin baby girls had been delivered weighing 0.9kg and
1kg respectively. He could not believe his ears and questioned the time and
date of delivery to which the surgeon responded that it was either they were
saved at that point in time or they were lost like all the others gone.

Dr. Hannaniya, knowing
what everybody in this country and beyond knew which was that the babies had a
slim chance of survival in a country like Nigeria, did not get excited. He did
not worry either but chose as usual to leave this one more challenge to God.

For the first time
their babies had been delivered alive so it was clear that the Lord had given
them the miracle of an identical twin birth but with the incessant power
outages and the inadequate medical care especially for neonates in the
incubators, what would be the fate of these little ones? As usual and with
wisdom, he chose to keep the news away from family and friends for he did not
want to get excited over his preterm babies. They willingly submitted the case
to the Lord and waited for time to celebrate if it was the will of God for
them.

As God gave his
approval, both babies survived and were christened Grace and Esther on Sunday,
22nd March 2015 at the time of their expected date of delivery.

The other two children
who had been adopted were also christened on the same day aged six and four. There
was a lovely celebration of the two healthy babies and their older adopted
siblings afterwards at the beautiful event organized by the family in the
Federal Capital Territory of Abuja. Their phenomenal testimony was shared by
the husband himself and all those present were amazed as Dr. Hannaniya shared
this incredible testimony of over 90 minutes while their guests were
entertained with food and drinks.

Their parents,
siblings, relations, friends, colleagues and well-wishers were speechless and
moved to tears of joy for the Grace of God on his beloved children, Duruyani
and Hannaniya, as they finally found complete joy in their now family of six.

There were great
lessons to learn from the power of prayers and the power in sealed lips for
they did not give room to any interference or sympathy from family and friends.

They had toured the world in search of
children of their own, they had spent money over the years, the Lord continued
to provide for them and eventually when they least expected it, the Lord showed
them that something good could still come out of their own country, Nigeria,
and this was the serendipity of our Lord, the perfection of science, their
dogged hope and above all, the abundant blessings of the Great God they serve.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Tolu Aregbesola had been given up on by one of the world's best doctors as a hopeless case. He had said: "In my 47 years of medical practice, I have never seen an uterus so badly scarred...it will never be able to carry a baby."

However, not only did Tolu miraculously conceive, she
carried two babies to term, delivering them naturally in May 2015!

Adewale and Tolu Aregbesola’s 19-year quest for parenthood
began shortly after their marriage in 1997 when a botched emergency cesarean
section ended their first pregnancy. Her doctor had forgotten some materials in her womb before closing her up
again, leading to a bad infection. Years after this was discovered, much damage
had already been done and countless operations left her uterus scarred leading
to Asherman’s Syndrome. An operation in India was fruitless and by the year 2000,
she had stopped menstruating altogether.

The Aregbesola’s took their search for a solution to the
United Kingdom where again operations on her womb did no good. Finally in 2010
at the Shady Grove Centre in the United States, after being examined by about
12 different doctors, they were given the diagnosis that closed their case
medically. Nothing more could be done about her case, they were told.

Disheartened and dispirited, they accepted their fate and
decided to relocate back to Nigeria. Avoiding all interference and keeping mostly to
themselves, they tried to hold on to the hope of divine intervention since
medical science had failed them. In 2013 the normally conservative Adewale
accepted an invitation to a special Laughter Foundation programme. They later
stood in a prayer line at a naming ceremony conducted by Laughter’s General
Overseer, Pastor Gbenga Osho. Not permitting them to narrate to him their
medical history he simply told Adewale, “Before May 27 2015, your wife will
deliver a set of twins.”

A few days later, a
mysterious snake was killed in their kitchen and less than three weeks
thereafter, the twins were conceived! Said Pastor Osho on June 14 2015 as he dedicated Taiwo,
Chidinma and Kehinde, Chinedu, “Man or doctors can say anything but it’s the
word of God that matters…”

Thus the womb doctors had deemed incapable of holding
anything even the size of a small lizard was able to carry not one but two full
term babies to the glory of God.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Mrs
Roseline Akinsola, 50, on Monday delivered a set of twins after 14 years of
childlessness. Akinsola, who
works at the Ekiti State Christian Pilgrims Board, was full of praises to God
for answering her prayers.The mother of two girls, who weighed 4.2kg and 2.3kg,
advised other couples in need of children not to lose hope. In an interview, she expressed gratitude to God for giving her the children after
several years.

"I thank God for the new name he has given to me; before, I was being
called Iya Iyanu’’ without a child, but today, my name has changed to “Mummy
Twins.’’ Many of my colleagues, friends and neighbours mocked and sidelined me,
but because I stood firm on the words of God, He answered my prayers. I thank
my husband, who in spite of the troubles and problems from family members,
friends, colleagues and neighbours, still believed in me and God.

He stood by me like a father
in all ways and also believed in God all through the crisis. I also thank my
siblings who stood by me in prayers for years. Let me thank God for all those who
stood by me in prayers and encouraged me not to desist from serving God. These
children are indeed signs that God never forgets his own people who diligently
seek him and believe in his word, ” she said.
The father of the twins, Babatunde,49, also expressed gratitude to God for the
children.

"We fasted, prayed and cried unto God for the fruit of the womb for years, but
I am happy that today, God has finally fulfilled his promise to my family. I
thank members of our church under the callings of Pastor and Mrs David Ajileye
for their prayers and care for my family,’’ the happy father, who is also a
civil servant, said.
Ajileye, who is the General Overseer of the Way of Life Bible Church,
Ado-Ekiti, thanked God for his blessings in the lives of the couple.

“We have known the couple for over 15 years and they have been steadfast and
faithful in serving God inspite of the challenges they were facing. For years,
I and my wife have been praying to God to give the couple the fruit of the
womb; I am so happy that the lord has answered their prayers. The church
witnessed a similar miracle in 2013 when a couple, members of our church
delivered a set of twins, a boy and a girl after 31 years of childlessness,’’
he said.

He advised the couple to teach and train the children in the ways of the lord.
NAN reports that the mother and the twins were in good health as at press time.

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Paul and Tunrayo Alagbe were married on
September 3, 1998 and had their first child on December 29, 2014!'I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me
and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song
in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and
put their trust in him (Psalm 40: 1-3).'

The above Psalm verses aptly describe Mrs. Tunrayo
Alagbe’s testimony of the Lord’s goodness as she finally gave birth to a
daughter at a few months shy of 60 years of age.

It was a sunny afternoon on Monday, January 5,
2015, and the atmosphere was radiantly purpled by the stylish outfits of many
who had come to witness the naming ceremony of the lovely daughter of the
Alagbes. The crowd was surprisingly large, even for the African setting, as
many braced the burning rays beating down on the premises of the Women
Missionary Union (WMU) headquarters of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC),
Total Garden area, Ibadan, just to show their solidarity with the couple.

As the President of the NBC, Reverend Dr. Supo
Ayokunle, affirmed during his address at the naming ceremony, “This child has,
from the beginning, started breaking records. I have never seen a naming
ceremony that attracted this kind of crowd. Also, no naming ceremony has been
conducted on the premises before now. This goes to show that God can do
anything, anytime, anywhere and anyhow, pleasantly, for his own people. For
those who wait upon God, it is never over until it is over. This is an occasion
for us to understand that God’s ways are not our ways.”

The Retired Executive Director, Women Missionary
Union, Nigeria, and a close friend of the family who anchored the naming of the
baby, Reverend Mrs. Yemi Ladokun, took the audience through the time of waiting.
She showed to the crowd some flowers from the bouquet used during the wedding
and stated that she had kept the flowers thinking she would use them during the
year after the wedding during the naming ceremony of a child but she was wrong
as she had to wait for almost 17 years.

Speaking on the experience
during the years of anxiety, Mrs Alagbe noted that the many years of worrying,
coupled with the delay before marriage, contributed to making the experience
quite worrying. According to her, “I wouldn’t say we were not worried, but God
was comforting and encouraging us. It was not a pleasant experience at all. We
experienced delay before marriage but this one was more excruciating. However,
God sustained us.”

On the most nagging worry during the times of
trial, the couple notes that the African tendency to look down on a childless
couple was a constant source of concern. According to the mother, “In Africa,
having children is very important. If you’re married and childless, it’s like
you have no honour, no respect, no place. You’re nobody, so to speak.”

The father, Paul Alagbe, further stated that “She
would sometimes say if she had known that it would be like this, she would not
marry me as it seems like she is a problem to me.” His wife affirmed this by
stating that “Medically, I was told he has no problem, but I was the one whose
fallopian tubes were blocked. I felt like I was a burden to him, like I
shouldn’t have come his way and instead allowed him to live his life.”

‘Childlessness does not mean you are married to
the wrong person’

The president of the NBC, Reverend Ayokunle, who
spoke on challenges and godly responses noted that nobility and godliness does
not immune an individual from trials. According to him, “Childlessness is not a
modern-day challenge. The fact that your family is childless does not mean you
are married to the wrong person. Some couples who do not have the problem of
childlessness have other problems. Would you rather exchange childlessness for
blindness, for instance? A problem is a problem but God is always there.”

On her general outlook during the period of not
knowing how things would turn out, Mrs. Alagbe, whom many describe as cheerful,
warm and always ready with a smile, narrated “I kept hoping. I cherished
my personal relationship with God because I know that the day you die, this
issue of having children no longer has meaning. So, I was jealously guarding my
personal relationship with God, especially in relation to eternity. I tried to
enjoy other things God has blessed me with. Although, I was often disturbed by
that one thing he had not done, I tried to enjoy what he has done and in my own
little way, I served him, hoping He will do it. I thought that if He doesn’t do
it, He knows why and knows how to sustain me. That’s also why I didn’t visit
all sort of places because I know that if I eventually get a child from the
wrong source and I end up in hell, what use will it be? Besides, God encouraged
me that He will do it and I trusted in His promise.”

‘There was pressure on me as the only surviving
male to have a child’

Her husband, Mr. Alagbe, was not also without his
own troubles. According to him, he was constantly reminded about the need to
take the alternative option by getting a second wife. This was further hinged
on his position as the only surviving male child of his family. As Mr. Alagbe
puts it, “We were six in my family; four of them died and it was just me and my
sister left. All my siblings who died did not have any children and there was
pressure on me as the only surviving male to have a child. However, I was
convinced by my faith not to do anything negative.”

God never comes too late –Mother

Mrs. Alagbe, who started treatment in early 2014,
was confirmed pregnant in April 2014 and the reaction of the couple when the
news first broke is too much to sufficiently capture in words.

“I didn’t believe it. It didn’t have much meaning
to me. It was like I was dreaming. However, as time went on, I saw it becoming
a reality. I just kept thanking God because He said He will do it according to
his promise in Psalm 40. I know that this miracle is for God’s name to be
glorified and for the hope of people to be reawakened so that they believe that
God still works miracles. God never comes too late,” Mrs. Alagbe stated.

For Mr. Alagbe, his reception of the good news was
almost unbelievable. In his words, “It was like a dream. I kept asking myself
if it was true.”

While echoing the joy of motherhood, Mrs. Alagbe
stated that “I just praise God. I’m delighted that God kept his word. In
January 2013, there was a prophecy in our church that God will do it. Several
people came to me and told me to hold on to that prophecy because it was for
me. In addition to what others had been telling me, and the support I received,
especially from my church, El-Shaddai Baptist Church, Pastor Mrs. Olateju and
many people, I am happy that God has been faithful to His word.”

‘You can still help people even in your own
sorrow’

While acknowledging that going through
childlessness is no trivial task, Mrs. Alagbe advises couples in this situation
to guard their relationship with God whatever the eventual outcome. As she
points out, “Even if at the end of the day, God doesn’t do it, it is to the
advantage of the couple. I reached that stage where I told God that if He
doesn’t do it, I’m okay with His decision because He knows what is best for me.
My advice is that they should hold on to God and ensure that their personal
relationship with God stands. They should also do other things to serve God
because when you serve God, you are not likely to be too sorrowful and you’ll
be happy to meet the needs of others and minister to people. Couples should not
aimlessly trust God but anchor on a verse on the Bible and trust the eventual
manifestation of God’s word. They should also help others. You can still help
people even in your own sorrow. When you minister to the needs of people, your
burden is lightened. The couple shouldn’t become so averse to others as if
barrenness is the only problem in the world. Afterall, God has done other
things that they can enjoy and appreciate. Let them hold on to God.”

Mr. Alagbe, affirmed by friends and church members
to be a friend of children and who also teaches children in the church, advises
couples in the situation to ensure that they are not hostile to people,
especially children, no matter how hard it seems.

Taking more wives is courting more problems
–Father

In his advice for men who are currently undergoing
the challenge of childlessness and who, like him, had been advised to take a
second wife, Mr. Alagbe encourages them to fear God, stating that “If they go
for more wives, they are asking for more problems. The best thing is to hold on
to God and see beyond the immediate situation. Right from time, I knew there
was a problem but I also considered what the situation would be if I was the
one who had the problem.”

The couple attempted to relive the priceless
memory of viewing the child for the first time. For Mr Alagbe, “There was
anxiety at the time of delivery. I read Tribune newspapers a lot and I had read
something about a similar case in which the operation was not successful and I
kept thinking about it. But when I saw the baby, I almost cried. I was very
happy.”

For Mrs. Alagbe, “I was just happy. I don’t know
the words to use. I was excited. I was thrilled that the baby had come at last.
I had her through Caesarian section at Vine Branch Medical Centre and at the
theatre, when they told me ‘this is your baby; it’s a perfect baby,’ I wanted
to scream and say ‘Wow! So this is what was in my womb!’ I lack words to
explain. Even though I was in pains, I couldn’t sleep throughout that day. I
was just looking at her and I kept saying to myself, ‘So this is you I have
been waiting for. Where did you hide?’ I was really very happy.”

The President, Ibadan Baptist Conference, Reverend
(Dr.) Yemi Adekunle, in his prayers for the family, prayed that their faith
remains unshaken and that God’s favour will radiate not just in the family but
through all present.

For prayers, encouragement and for witnessing the
ceremony, the Pastor, First Baptist Church, Ibafo, thanked and prayed for God’s
blessings upon all.

Fertility Confessions

The childless Nigerian wife

Caroline Cain Hand Reflexology points for Fertility

http://youtu.be/zy-rutXdZOc

Visit Pastor Bisi Adewale at

The Komolafes welcome baby boy after 22 years!

It was a joyful thanksgiving session at the house of the Deputy Managing Director of ThisDay Newspaper, Mr Kayode Komolafe, as friends and well-wishers thronged his Ikosi GRA residence, Lagos, to felicitate with him on the birth of a babyboy after 22 years of seeking the fruit of the womb. READ MORE at: http://www.motheratlast.blogspot.com

PRAYER BABIES...inspiring stories from Europe

Overcoming delay in childbearing

Are you facing the challenge of delay in having children? Hang in there; God will grant you that perfectly legitimate desire: to be a parent. Please be encouraged; you are not alone! It is God’s will that you have children. It is the right of every child of God, not a privilege. That is what He says in His word, “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth…” no exception. Gen 1:28 KJV.

It does not matter what has been diagnosed as the cause of your infertility; is it fibroids, blocked or even absent tubes? Anovulation? Hormonal imbalance? Low/Nil sperm count, A hostile womb? Too tiny or even non existent womb? Maybe it’s been called ‘unexplained.’ Whatever name the condition has been given, IS ANYTHING TOO HARD FOR THE LORD? Gen 1:18a. God has no favourites when it comes to answering prayers, all He says is BELIEVE (Mark 11:24).You may have been mocked or made to feel useless or incomplete. In some parts of the world, a married woman is almost regarded as a witch if she is childless (it is often assumed that she is the one with the problem). It’s not unheard of, when they run out of patience, for members of a man’s family to physically throw out a wife while her husband stands meekly by!

Even where there is no stigma or hostility, it is perfectly natural to wonder why conception seems to come so easy to others and not to you. Often you feel so miserable and consumed with longing to have a baby of your own. You try to put on a happy face and conceal your misery when you go for baby showers or naming ceremonies but you only and maybe your partner, know what you are really going through. You go out and it’s like every second woman you pass either has a baby bump or a toddler clinging to her. You hear the happy laughter or cries of children everywhere but in your own home.

you will laugh last:

The Nation visited Laughter Foundation on a Saturday. At the background of the pulpit were displayed Nigerian and Israeli flags. A huge crowd of mostly women worshippers danced rhythmically to the music. Pastor Gbenga Osho walked in at exactly 7am. The cool, calm and collected Pastor stepped to the pulpit and began to dance with the crowd that spilled into the adjacent compound."In Genesis God said, ‘Go into the world and multiply, replenish the earth and subdue it.’ You will all have children in Jesus’ name." The crowd responding to the pastor’s pronouncement thundered, Ameeeeeeen.One old worshipper told The Nation that he came "all the way from Italy, having waited in vain for 20 years to have a child." He said, "My wife’s now pregnant."The establishment of the church was the result of a direct difficulty faced by the Osho family in having a child. Years back, the family was childless. They met one of Nigeria’s topmost gynaecologists who advised that the couple should go home. "You can never have a child. There’s nothing you can do. Just go home, relax, eat and counsel yourselves until the end of time," the gynaecologist was said to have told them. But the family never gave up. They chose prayers."I won the battle because I was treated by the number one Doctor, God," Pastor Osho said.Three years ago, Omolade had sat on a couch in her family’s apartment and pondered over her childlessness having suffered several miscarriages. Based on recommendation of people, the family joined the Laughter Foundation where they joined others in seeking divine intervention.One Wednesday, last November, caring doctors ran helter-skelter at the Onabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, OOUTH as Molade was in labour.For the past nine months, Omolade explained, the doctors led by Dr. Peter Adefuye, unlike the usually snobbish Nigerian medical officials in many government hospitals, had counselled her, appealing to her to be calm as she weathered the storm. "These OOSUTH doctors and medial workers are wonderful. They did a great job. They were caring, humane and they treated me and every pregnant woman with dignity that is uncommon in a country where most professions have lost their dignity,’ Molade told The Nation.At noon that Wednesday, her husband placed a call to Pastor Osho around noon to break the good news: "Praise the Lord sir. My wife has delivered a baby boy. The baby cried with a strong Ekiti accent," the pastor retorted characteristically, "Praise God." Penultimate week, the family marked the naming of a child after five years of what Omolade said was a ‘the most tortuous journey of her life." She said: "I believe not having a child is a spiritual problem." Her belief is probably deeply planted in the hearts of most Nigerians.Medical or spiritual, the extremes women go to when seeking the fruit of the womb reflects the society’s attitude towards this problem. This is unlike in the Western world where some couples even agree before marriage that they would not have children at all. Some seekers find solution and give birth to children. Others seek in vain. What is certain is that our society’s view is not likely to change soon.

Source: The nation, January 2, 2008

Increase pregnancy odds by working with reputable natural health practitioners

when a woman is most likely to become pregnant:

In African tradition, a marriage without offspring is considered useless. Some parents at times, advice their wards to try their luck somewhere else, all because the wife has failed to become pregnant after years of marriage.

To some people however, children are precious gifts from God. They keep hoping that one day, they will have their own children.

Medical research however says that 40% of barrenness may be a result of careless timing of intercourse between husband and wife apart from diseases that breed infertility in women.

A woman is most likely to conceive just after the time she ovulates. An egg lives for about twenty four hours after it is released from the ovary. If a woman is going to conceive, the egg has to be fertilized within these twenty four hours.

If you want to become pregnant then the time to make love is around the time of ovulation. The best time of all is the day before ovulation. This gives the sperm time to travel up into the Fallopian tubes and so to be waiting when the egg is released.

You can find out when you ovulate and so when you are likely to conceive.

HOW TO FIND OUT WHEN YOU OVULATE

There are several ways of finding out when you ovulate. If you use all the methods together, you will get the most accurate idea of your time of ovulation.

The Calender Method1. If your monthly cycle is fairly regular, you are probably used to working out when your next period is due. You can work out when you ovulate in the same way. First you have to get to know the pattern of your monthly cycle. Keep a record of your periods. Each month, record the first day of bleeding, in your diary or on a calendar. Do this for a number of months.

2. you can now work out the length of your monthly cycle. For each month that you have recorded, count the days from the first day of the next. If you have a regular cycle, the number of days between your periods will be about the same each month. But if the numbers vary a lot, you obviously have an irregular cycle and you will need to use the temperature or mucus methods to find out when you ovulate.

3. The length of a woman’s cycle varies. But most women ovulate about fourteen days before their next period. So using what you know to be the usual length of your monthly cycle, work out the first day of your period. Now count back fourteen days and you have the time when you are likely to ovulate. If you have intercourse around this time, you have a better chance of conceiving than at any other time in the month.

things some women go thru in the quest for a baby

Evangelist Abeke Ojo runs a famous church at Iju in Lagos and specializes in praying for women seeking fruit of the womb. She herself was once an object of indignity in her search for a child of her own after 18 years of marriage."I was locked up in a small room at Ofa in Kwara State without food for 14 days during which every night I was flogged by a man I could not see. The herbalist told me I was being flogged by spirits. Nearly at the point of death on the 10th day, I ran away to Lagos." she said. She now has a child, which she linked to her "direct relationship with God through persistent prayer and fasting."

without surgery, acupuncture can cure most diseases

Change in diet 'could help older women have babies'

Women in their 40s and 50s could increase their chance of having a baby by making a "drastic" change in their diet, it has been claimed.

Sarah Dobbyn, a nutritionist and author of The Fertility Diet, said the influence of diet on fertility is often overlooked.She claims that making alterations, such as cutting out alcohol and sugar, will allow women to hit the "snooze button" on their biological clocks.Following an improved diet could also help women to conceive even when they are entering the fifth decade of their lives, according to the book.It could also benefit women who believe that IVF treatment is their only hope of becoming pregnant.Miss Dobbyn said: "Huge amounts of money are being spent on assisted conception techniques by hopeful couples who do not know that alcoholic and caffeinated beverages are liquid contraceptives, sweeteners can prevent ovulation and seemingly innocent foods such as peas, rhubarb and soya all inhibit fertility."The Fertility Diet sets out a month-by-month diet and lifestyle plan which should be followed by both partners, to maximise the chance of conception.It recommends cutting out smoking, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, caffeine and soya in the first month. Peas and rhubarb are also banned, following studies linking them to infertility.By month two, couples should have given up all meat and cut out sugar and dairy products.Come the third month, consumption of eggs and fruit juices should be reduced.Couples are also encouraged to eat unlimited quantities of beans, pulses, organic herbs, spices and nuts from day one.Fruit and vegetables should be eaten raw wherever possible to help balance the body's hormones.Would-be parents are also advised to lose weight if overweight, keep stress to a minimum, and try to get a good night's sleep.Miss Dobbyn, 43, who plans to try for a child of her own soon, spent two-and-a-half years sifting through research papers and books on fertility to write The Fertility Diet.She believes the advice will help older couples to conceive.She said: "It is a pain to give up caffeine, it is a pain to give up wine, but won't it be worth it when you have your own baby?"SOURCE:the telegraphHowever IVF doctors questioned how effective the meat and dairy-free diet would be.Professor Bill Ledger, a fertility expert from Sheffield University, said: "We tend to create a lot of guilt in people these days."The worry is that some gullible young woman will read this book and start living that life and miss out on a lot of fun and normality."